FOREIGN RELATIONS

Guiding Principles and Objectives

Ghana's foreign policy since independence has been characterized by a
commitment to the principles and ideals of nonalignment and
Pan-Africanism as first enunciated by Kwame Nkrumah in the early 1960s.
For Nkrumah, nonalignment meant complete independence from the policies
and alliances of both East and West and support for a worldwide union of
so-called nonaligned nations as a counter to both East and West power
blocs. PanAfricanism , by contrast, was a specifically African policy
that envisioned the liberation of African peoples from Western
colonialism and the eventual economic and political unity of the African
continent.

The PNDC, like most of its predecessors, made serious and consistent
attempts at the practical application of these ideals and principles,
and its successor, the NDC government, promises to follow in the PNDC's
footsteps. Under the NDC, Ghana remains committed to the principle of
nonalignment in world politics. Ghana is also opposed to interference in
the internal affairs of both small and large countries. This is a
departure from Nkrumah's foreign policy approach; Nkrumah was frequently
accused of subverting African regimes, such as Togo and Côte d'Ivoire,
which he considered ideologically conservative. The NDC government, like
the PNDC before it, believes in the principle of selfdetermination ,
including the right to political independence and the right of people to
pursue their economic and social development free from external
interference. Another feature of NDC rule carried over from the PNDC era
is faithfulness to what a leading scholar of Africa has called "one
of the most successful neoclassical economic reform efforts supported by
the IMF and the World Bank."

The broad objectives of Ghana's foreign policy thus include
maintaining friendly relations and cooperation with all countries that
desire such cooperation, irrespective of ideological considerations, on
the basis of mutual respect and noninterference in each other's internal
affairs. Africa and its liberation and unity are naturally the
cornerstones of Ghana's foreign policy. As a founding member of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU), NDC policy is to adhere faithfully
to the OAU Charter.

Another important principle of Ghana's foreign policy involves the
closest possible cooperation with neighboring countries with which the
people of Ghana share cultural history, ties of blood, and economics.
The results have included various bilateral trade and economic
agreements and permanent joint commissions involving Ghana and its
immediate neighbors, sometimes in the face of latent ideological and
political differences and mutual suspicion, as well as numerous
reciprocal state visits by high-ranking officials. These measures have
contributed significantly to subregional cooperation, development, and
the reduction of tension.

As an example of Ghana's interest in regional cooperation, the
country enthusiastically endorsed formation of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975. This organization was created
specifically to foster inter-regional economic and political
cooperation. It has served as a useful vehicle for contacts with
neighboring West African governments and for channeling increased
Ghanaian exports to regional markets. Since 1990 ECOWAS has been engaged
in a peacekeeping mission in Liberia to which Ghana has contributed a
large contingent of troops. Ghana has participated in other
international peacekeeping efforts as well, sending soldiers to
operations of the United Nations (UN) in Cambodia in 1992-93 and Rwanda
in 1993-94.

In August 1994, Rawlings became ECOWAS chairman, a post that had
eluded him since the PNDC came to power. He immediately undertook
several initiatives to reduce tensions and conflict in West Africa.
Notable among them was the Akosombo Accord of September 12, designed to
end civil war in Liberia.